Comparison of Nakagami Imaging and Conventional Quantitative Ultrasound Metrics in Healthy Volunteers in Pre- and Post-prandial Conditions

Background Nakagami imaging has recently shown promise as a marker for liver disease by quantifying tissue microstructure [1]. However, it has not yet been extensively evaluated alongside other quantitative ultrasound techniques. We compare Shear Wave Speed (SWS), Shear Wave Dispersion (SWD), and Attenuation Imaging (ATI), to Nakagami distribution shape and spread parameters in a cohort of 12 healthy volunteers under pre- and post-prandial conditions.

Methods Examinations were performed on a Canon Aplio i800 using the i8CX1 convex array. Nine measurements of SWS and SWD (circular ROIs, 10 mm diameter), and five measurements of ATI and Nakagami parameters were acquired pre- and post-prandial. For Nakagami imaging, RF data was extracted from the scanner for offline analysis, and parameters were calculated using the envelope signal from a 10mm x 10mm window located 10mm below the liver capsule. A Maximum Likelihood Estimator was implemented in MATLAB R2024b to calculate Nakagami shape and spread.

Results Nakagami shape parameters were consistent with previously reported ranges for healthy liver tissue [1]. No significant differences were observed between pre- and post-prandial states for any parameter (SWS: 1.37±0.13 vs 1.35±0.09 m/s, SWD: 11.5±2.0 vs 11.1±1.5 m/s/kHz, ATI: 0.54±0.04 vs 0.53±0.03 dB/cm/MHz, Nakagami shape: 0.71±0.09 vs 0.75±0.09, and Nakagami spread: 4.0×10e⁸±2.4×10e⁸ vs 2.9×10e⁸±2.5×10e⁸). Moderate correlations were observed between the Nakagami shape and spread parameters and the other quantitative metrics (range r=-0.28 to r=0.40).

Conclusion In volunteers, Nakagami parameters do not vary significantly in pre- and post-prandial states, supporting the robustness of Nakagami imaging in stable physiological conditions. Limitations include the small sample size and restriction to healthy subjects.

Publikationsverlauf

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
16. Oktober 2025

• Literatur

• 1 Tsui PH.. 1 et al. Acoustic structure quantification using ultrasound Nakagami imaging for assessing liver fibrosis. SciRep 2016; 6: 33075